ᵀʰᵉ Rєd Sтяιηg ᵒᶠ Ƒαтє
by FyreMyst
Summary: Mintfeather wishes to be a medicine cat, but is forced upon the path of a warrior as his brother takes the position for the power it brings. Instead, the young warrior befriends a deaf kit, the lone survivor of a litter born far too early. Together the two outcasts learn to find their place in a Clan that looks down upon them.
1. Introduction

Destiny. Fate. There are some cats that can read its folds, that can see the path of the future. They can see the tiny strands of time that leads cats dancing from one moment to the next, pulled like puppets along cords of crimson. They call this the red string of fate and every cat wears it looped around their soul, ever pulling, ever tugging into the future. However destiny rarely leads in one simple direction. It can be folded, it can be stretched, it can be tangled, looped or knotted.

And sometimes it can be cut.

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 **. . . . . . .welcome**

Hey, it's been a while since I've been here. I was a bit excited that maybe they'd fix the HTML comparability and interface while I was gone, but it's still the same as back in 2014. Rip. Anyways, my name is Amber, bringing y'all a story of two outcasts desperately trying to find their place in the world. Enjoy, and don't forget to follow to be alerted to updates and favorite to join the VIP squad for epic contests, teasers, bonus content and more.

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 **. . . . . . .summary**

Mintfeather always wanted to be a medicine cat. That is, until his brother made sure he would be chosen instead, craving the title for the power it brought and leaving Mintfeather stranded as a warrior: a poor fighter, a clumsy hunter, a coward. The red string of fate pulled against him, giving him only one choice: speak out or stay silent.

It was spring when Leopardtuft kitted, far too early for the five lives in her belly. The only survivor was a small white tom with blue eyes. His name was Icekit and he could not hear. Around his small paws twisted that red string of fate, but as they would soon discover, it was he who pulled the strings.

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 **. . . . . . .the history**

It all started with the Clans at the Lake. WindClan. RiverClan. ShadowClan. ThunderClan. There were four, always the four, to keep balance and peace to all the cats who called the Lake territories their home. They survived many threats, trials in which the four triumphed and grew from. They were strong, they were fearless . . . but they were far from immortal. Another group of cats were on the move and set their eyes on the Lake. They fought, but the Clan cats hadn't the numbers nor the skill to push the intruders away. WindClan fell first. RiverClan and ShadowClan gave way soon after. They all took refuge in ThunderClan's camp, the sheer cliffs of the quarry giving them a place to make a last stand. The battle lasted for three days and two nights without pause. Broken, with more dead than alive, the survivors of the Clans were given until the next dawn to flee.

More lives were lost through the next moon. Cats injured to the point they couldn't go on, others weakened by the fighting they couldn't run from dogs, foxes, or other threats the Clans faced away from their sheltered homes. Some died of illness, others from lack of prey.

But some survived. Some pressed on, determined to find a new home. And over time, they grew strong once more. The four Clans were all but forgotten, drawn together in their journey. They traveled farther than they could have imagined possible. Over hills, through cities, across rivers so wide one couldn't see the other side. Until one cat received a vision, a vision from the stars. They looked around and stopped, for they had finally come home.

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 **. . . . . . .the clans**

 **FireClan** named after the kit's tale of Firestar, lives in the forest in the southwest of the territory. They believe in the virtues strength and pride. They are composed of cats mainly from ThunderClan and WindClan decent. Their camp is in the oldest part of the forest and the center of the territory, where old oaks and maples stand tall and the undergrowth thickens to a snarl. Thick walls woven from bramble and holly shield the camp from harm. Most their dens are under bushes or built out of the wall structure itself, though the nursery sits within a badger's set, its floor made of sand brought from the rivers to the east of the territory. A fallen hollow log houses the leader, who uses the top as a perch to watch over the Clan.

 **ShadowClan** named after the old ShadowClan, claimed the river-strewn thick forest to the northwest. Their main virtue is loyalty and wisdom. The cats usually have RiverClan or ShadowClan heritage, though almost all have pelts suitable for swimming. The territory has many streams and gullies, covered by a thick canopy and dark groundcover plants. Their camp is in the northwestern corner, and isn't even a camp as one might expect. Cats gather atop a hill. A boulder sticking out of the side provides a ledge for the leader to conduct meetings and underneath has been carved out to provide a flat space for the medicine cats' den, shielded by ferns and bushes. The other cats sleep wherever they see fit anywhere within easy earshot of the hill, though each cat usually claims one spot and personalizes it with shells, feathers, and other pretty things. A coveted place is a beech tree with a hollow in the side, perfect for one or two cats to nest in. This is usually reserved for the elders as it is warm, safe, and private.

 **BlossomClan** was created a few generations after the others were established. They reside in the chasm-strewn lands east of the other two territories. Their ideology embraces freedom and curiosity. Their Clan was created when a group of ShadowClan warriors disliked their leader's strict policies. A few FireClan cats joined them (mostly in good favor) and the few started a new Clan. Outsiders were also invited, as BlossomClan housed a good deal of loners living within its new territory and bordered a few houses on the outskirts of the city. At first they weren't considered a legitimate Clan by the others and oftentimes were trespassed upon, but BlossomClan backed up its claims with claws and after StarClan officially accepted Thistlestar as leader of the new Clan, the others were quick to respect its borders. BlossomClan camps in the southern end of the territory, within one of the many ravines. This one is shaped like a skinny triangle, with a pond on the wide end. Dens are placed within the sides of the chasm as well as under bushes on the grassy floor of the ravine.

 **Gatherings** take place every full moon. Formerly to the east of FireClan and ShadowClan, the meeting place now resides within BlossomClan's territory. The river that divides ShadowClan and FireClan falls into one of BlossomClan's hollows, forming a pool that funnels into an underwater aquifer. The ravine's sides are shallow and gentle, making the grassy meadow within a perfect place for the three Clans to peacefully gather.

Medicine cats consult StarClan every waxing half moon, unlike in previous locations where the Clans visited their ancestors on both waxing and waning moons. The **Starpool** is two days' easy travel from the Clans, making it impractical to have eight days of absence every month. The journey takes the medicine cats north, past ShadowClan's camp. They rest at a cottage -a half way point- to sleep and hunt. Their travel brings them to the base of a stone outcropping, much like the Moonstone had been in the forest territories many generations past. A tunnel leads the cats to a cavern, where a path snaking up the side reveals a small cove filled with water dripping from the stalagmites overhead. An island in the center is accessible by wading across, and it is there that StarClan communes with the Clan cats.

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 **. . . . . . .the cast**

Character lists will eventually go here.

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	2. Prologue

**"Of all the foxdung in StarClan," he swore, watching** the leaves rustle as the mouse made its escape. He sighed and sat in the ferns, licking the dirt from between his claws until his paws were clean, wrinkling his nose against the bitter taste. The sun was already high in the sky and while he could scent wrens and mice and squirrels all around him, getting the prey under his paws was a different matter entirely and a challenge that was nigh impossible for the lithe tomcat to overcome.

He thought about giving it another shot -he could hear the sparrows calling in a bush not two tree lengths away. But what was the point? He couldn't even catch a slow, summer-fat mouse and birds could _fly_. "Mintpaw!" The birds took wing in a flurry of calls and shivering of leaves. It felt silent in the forest without their racket.

Mintpaw saw a ginger-and-white she-cat weaving through the trees and stood, waving his tail. "Over here."

He watched as she paused, scanning the treeline before spotting him and darting over. She was slightly out of breath but was smiling ear to ear. "I was hunting- in a ravine- caught-sorry, sorry." She coughed, forced herself to breathe. "Okay. I caught a couple rabbits and could use the help getting them back to camp. If you don't mind, of course," she added hastily, yellow eyes wide.

"You know I don't mind, Maplepaw. Lead the way." I didn't mention that helping take back prey may make it seem like I helped with catching some of it.

Her smile was back, wider than ever. "Thanks, Mintpaw!" Maplepaw darted off the way she came, leaving Mintpaw rushing to try and keep up with the excitable she-cat. Two rabbits. He shook his head in disbelief. _At least the Clan won't starve,_ he thought, though he knew it was only he who had trouble catching prey in the middle of greenleaf.

Maplepaw was already digging the rabbits out from between the rocks she cached them when Mintpaw made it to the top of the ravine. He peered over the edge. The bottom was grassy and full of small bushes: mostly dark-leaved holly and prickly raspberry vines. But the sides to this ravine were steep, clustered here and there by fallen boulders and thin, sharp ledges of slate. Mintpaw picked his way down, carefully pressing his paws down on the rocks before giving them his full weight. The action was like second nature to him, and while he sent a few stones tumbling down the side, he made it to the sloping base without even a scraped pawpad.

Maplepaw was waiting at the bottom, the two rabbits laid out onto a rock and their ruffs dark with their own blood. Mintpaw was surprised to feel the grass give way as he jumped off the stones, the earth marshy and saturated with water. Of course the bottom of the ravine was much lower than the rest of the territory, but the pond- and marsh-filled ravines usually sat closer to ShadowClan territory and their many rivers. This one was south of BlossomClan's camp, closer to FireClan's forest, yet it felt more like ShadowClan's marshes as he sloshed through the soggy grass.

He shook the water from his paws as he padded farther into the valley, curious. Maplepaw followed, bouncing between tufts of taller grass. "Never been down here before? I love it; it's one of my favorite places in the entire world."

"Out of all the ravines in BlossomClan, why this one?" Mintpaw asked. He flicked Maplepaw on the shoulder with his tail and turned with a smile. "You could have chosen one less wet." She stopped and he took a few more steps before turning back, worried. Her eyes were on her paws. The white-and-grey tom mentally clawed himself as he padded back to where she was. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It was a joke, this place is beautiful."

Maplepaw looked up, yellow eyes wide as ever. "No! No, it's not that." She shook her head. "Can I show you something? You have to promise you won't tell any cat, not ever."

Mintpaw blinked, pulling his eyes from hers: pleading with him, tugging on him. "You don't have to, I-I can-"

"Please. I need to show somecat." She paused, shuffling her paws. "I found this place when I got lost my first day out of camp and ever since then I needed to talk to somecat about it, but every time I try I know they're going to think I'm crazy so I can't say anything at all. But I know you, Mintpaw, and you'll get it, I know it! Even when we were kits you were always kind and understanding and-" she cut herself off. "Please, Mintpaw. I trust you."

The desperation was clear on her face as any emotion was. She hadn't changed either: since she was born any cat could read her at a glance, that's just the way she was. "Okay."

Maplepaw's ears perked. The smile started hesitantly but then grew across her muzzle. "Thank you! It won't take long, I promise." She shot off across the ravine, her paws kicking up water with every step. Mintpaw followed her path over the lush grass, following her pawsteps with their deep indents in the wet earth. A secret place in the heart of BlossomClan territory? He shook his head. He had never seen Maplepaw so serious about anything before. She was older than he was, being littermates for a pawful of days before she moved to the apprentices' den. There they had been apprentices together for a few moons, but other than chance training sessions then and scattered patrols together, he hadn't really talked to the excitable white she-cat.

He wondered how she had come to trust him, then. He knew she had a sister, Cloudedpaw, that she was close with and she was a social butterfly: no doubt she had plenty of friends to turn to. He was just another warrior close to her age and in the same Clan. Nothing more than that. So why me? He wondered as he watched her jump through the sodden grass like a kit out to play.

Maplepaw waited for him to catch up at the other side of the ravine beside a cluster of fallen stones. They were larger boulders than those on the other side, more rounded and with fewer angles. The holly bushes grew thicker and Mintpaw was forced to duck under their leaves as he approached, pushing his way through and under the low hanging branches when they arched above the thin trail Maplepaw had created.

"It was after we had seen the borders." It was a moment before Mintpaw realized she was continuing the story from earlier on, about how she had found this ravine in the first place. "I thought it would be fun to hide from Leafclaw. He was always so full of it, I just wanted to prove to him he wasn't infallible," Maplepaw said as she pulled a stone away from the wall, revealing a small dark space behind. She had to push her way through, scrabbling with her claws to fit her wide shoulders into the gap. "Don't worry, it's only a few steps inside."

Mintpaw looked to the stones above him, the blue sky flickering through the leaves. His paws squelched in the grass. Crickets buzzed in the distance. He shook his fur. "Quit stalling," he muttered to himself, steeling his courage as he crouched low to the ground and pulled himself into the darkness.

His nose bumped against something warm and he jumped, bashing his shoulders against the stone. Maplepaw laughed, echoing through the closed space. "It's just me. Another bit and then you should be able to stand." Mintpaw winced against the pain, but brushed his head against the top of the tunnel until he couldn't feel the cold stone anymore. He carefully brought himself to his paws. "Mintpaw?"

"Yeah, I'm here." The darkness was complete. Their voices echoed, making it difficult for him to pinpoint where Maplepaw's call originated. She couldn't have gone far. He pushed his paw in front of him until he felt it brush her fur, stepping away from the tunnel entrance towards her. A pale glow lit the ground beneath his paws and he felt the tension melt from his chest. They couldn't lose the entrance even if it was only a faint smudge of grey in the blackness.

He turned his head but couldn't see a thing. It was an interesting space to be sure, but what could be special about the complete dark?

"Look up," Maplepaw whispered. He felt her tail on his chin and he tipped his head to the top of the cavern. There was a single dot, far, far above, glowing white and gold, expanding in and out of focus. "Isn't it pretty? What do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

"I've been here a few times and it's just. . . sitting there. Blinking. Do you think it's a star?"

There was a whir and a buzz as the air vibrated around him. He felt his pelt flattened as though he was standing in the midst of a gale. A sharp sound rung through his ears. The little glowing dot expanded and suddenly there was a cat standing there, tiny from the distance, but definitely a cat. His eyes went wide.

It was him. The cat was glowing white and he couldn't discern any patterns, but for some reason he knew without a doubt that cat was him.

Another sharp note, like claws run over stone. It made his fur stand on end, sent a shiver through his body. The dot flashed once, twice, three times. Faster. A trail of red spooled out from the top, folding and turning like a ribbon caught in the wind. It twisted around the glowing cat's paws, his chest, his neck. And Mintpaw felt it. The red thread tangled and tightened. He could feel the pressure along his legs, around his stomach, pulling the breath from his lungs.

He pulled his eyes from above and looked to his own paws, lit with crimson light from the red thread as it pulled around him, twisting, tightening, digging into his flesh.

He screamed.

There was a red flash.

And then there was darkness.


	3. Front page update, loads of new info

The front page has been updated with loads of new things including a short history of where these three Clans originated and details about each one.

This notice will be deleted when the second chapter is put up (in a few days, guys, still working out a schedule) but there's a lot of new materials there so go check it out ^^ it will help a ton before this next chapter, as it assumes y'all know most of the knowledge about the basic Clan territories. Enjoy this not so little update, it's like a sneak peek.

Peace  
~Fyre


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